Savoring Moments
by Monkeybarrel
Summary: Finding the place to enjoy his "just desserts" becomes harder than Tsuzuki ever expected.


Notes- I've liked this series for a long time, but this is my first real Yami fic, outside of some round robins floating around. This was specifically from a timed writing challenge. Any feedback is always appreciated. Thank you. ^_^

Disclaimer- Yami no Matsuei is so not mine. Le sigh...

Warnings- For those who need to be warned, there are shounen-ai implications here. There you go. 

Savoring Moments

Tsuzuki poked his dog-eared head cautiously around the corner. The hall appeared empty, but after seventy years of work at the Bureau for the Dead, he knew he could never be too-too cautious, what with such precious cargo in hand. Eyes darting back and forth, he took one slow, careful step. When nothing happened, he sighed with relief and took another and another, until he had successfully tiptoed down the length of the hall. He held his breath as he passed the door to the main office where his and everyone else's desks were. He risked a quick look in to see Terazuma and Wakaba fighting by the copier. Konoe was by the coffee maker, but his back was to the door and more importantly, to Tsuzuki. His eyes went over the room and he bit his lip as he realized what was missing. Tatsumi was mysteriously absent from the scene. 

It wasn't like him to take a late lunch...

Tsuzuki decided not to chance his luck any further by trying to figure out the Secretary's whereabouts. What mattered now was that he was not in front of him and thus, making it easier for him to sneak off another 15 minutes of his already half-hour extended lunch to enjoy his much anticipated dessert. 

"Just a little bit more..." he whispered, taking one last step passed the office and into freedom.

"Welcome back, Tsuzuki-san."

He turned quickly, his prize tightly grasped behind his back. Tatsumi stood by the door to the men's room. He was still wiping his hands with his handkerchief as he walked over to him. Tsuzuki tried to cover his surprise with the biggest grin he could muster. He hoped it would distract the other Shinigami away from the fact that one of his hands was not in sight. "Hey, Tatsumi, didn't see you there!"

"Well, you were quite busy looking in on everyone else," the Secretary smiled at him and then reached over, opening the door to the office. "I am sure that after such a long, relaxing lunch you are quite ready for a productive afternoon." He spoke the last few words a little louder than the rest and everyone inside turned towards them.

"Tzuzuki-san!" Wakaba stopped trying to grab for the book her partner was holding just out of her reach and turned her beaming smile towards him. "You're back!"

"About time." Terazuma scowled down and pushed the book into Wakaba's chest, forcing her to look down and take it. "We were thinking you died down there or something. Oh wait, too late." He turned his smirk towards the door, but then his eyes narrowed. "...Wait a minute." He started towards them. "Are you hiding something behind your back?"

Tsuzuki's smile fell then as the other Shinigami's pace quickened. He took a step back further down the hall and looked over to Tatsumi. The Secretary's face held its usual cool expression, but he caught the slight twitch up at the corners of his mouth. He threw himself at the twitch and widened his eyes to what he prayed to be their most woeful puppy look. "Tatsumi..."

Seconds passed and Terazuma was just a few paces away, his hand outstretched towards Tsuzuki's side. Tsuzuki gulped and bowed his head and sighed. He felt his hand sweating, and the package it so tightly held seemed about to slip from his fingers. The gig was up. He might as well take it like a man, or at least like the man he once used to be. Biting his lip again, he looked back up, his resolve suddenly solid, but faced only a closed door.

He blinked. Terazuma's face was plastered to the glass, one eye cracked open and glaring at him and Tatsumi in the hall. His hand went for the knob, but it only rattled in his grasp. On the other side of the door, the Secretary's grip was tight around it, keeping it closed.

"Tatsumi..." Tsuzuki didn't know what to say.

Tatsumi's lips did twitch up at this point, but the smile made the other Shinigami suddenly nervous, like he had just sealed a deal that he never knew he'd made. "You do know that extended lunch hours of course mean extended work days, right, Tsuzuki-san?" Tatsumi used his free hand to push his glasses up and the light flashed against them, blocking the view of his eyes. "I will expect you to make-up whatever time that is lost."

Tsuzuki gulped and nodded. "No problem, Tatsumi."

"Excellent." The Secretary nodded towards the end of the hall. "You better go and complete your errand then."

Tsuzuki's smile returned and after a wave, he started to run down the hall. As he was about to turn and leave Terazuma's scowling face-in-glass behind, the secretary's voice stopped him.

"And Tsuzuki-san?"

He was afraid of the sudden seriousness in Tatsumi's tone, but he turned back anyways. "Yes?"

"Eat too much of those and you will get sick, and I can promise you that I will not tolerate any more missed work due to your sweet tooth." Tatsumi flashed him a stony smile and then turned the knob on the door. Tsuzuki bowed his head and quickly ran for cover. By the time Terazuma reached the spot where he had been standing just a few moments before, any signs of the hungry Shinigami were gone.

----- 

"I won't get _sick_. I've eaten tons of these without getting sick."

His extra fifteen minutes quickly moved into thirty as he searched and searched for a single private spot to open the box still in his hands. He felt a little bad hoarding it all to himself, but the lunch hour he had missed by standing in line to buy them gave him a small justification that a little private time between him and his bon-bons was more than warranted. After finding every place occupied (he didn't want to think about what Watari was doing in the broom closet), he came to the last spot on his secret-lunch list, the library. 

He cracked open the door and looked inside. The main desk was clear. His call for a special book retrieval would have both Goshoshin brothers lost in the stacks for the afternoon. He grinned at his own cleverness. The added English accent to his voice on the phone had been a spur of the moment thing, but it almost had fooled him. "Am I just bloody good or what?" He smoothed his hair back and stepped further inside. 

The library seemed completely quiet, empty of any life outside of him. He moved quickly passed the main desk and down through the shelves. Even after the many renovations, he still had his secret spots marked out. He had been here long enough to know where a Shinigami could bide his time, even in the spots that he wasn't technically allowed in anymore. 

"That was Terazuma's fault anyways..." he mumbled. "I didn't do anything to be banned for. Besides, I didn't think Suzaku would blow up the entire reference section." He snuck passed the card catalogue and moved further between the shelves. Far from the golden glow that streamed through the windows, he soon found himself deep within the shadows of the classical literature section. Two right turns and a left and he had reached his goal. A back little corner behind the shelves where a low lamp hung over one single recliner. He smiled at his own accomplishment and reached his free hand to pat his own back. Good job, Tsuzu...

His eyes widened as his mental boasting trailed off. It seemed that he had indeed made a mistake. His private spot was anything but. He sighed, puffing out his cheeks. Looking down at the box in his hands, he fingered the fine gold embossed letters that ran across the front. Finest chocolates in town, fine enough for him to stand for an entire hour, watching the boxes for the day disappear just as fast as his free time. He sighed again and walked over. The gig was up this time. He was out of places to hide, and besides, he could never hide from his partner anyway. No matter where he was, Hisoka always seemed to find him, even if his finding was by getting to the desired destination first.

He moved up to the chair where the boy was leaning into. A dusty red book lay open across his lap, but as he neared, he noticed the other Shinigami was not looking at it. Hisoka's normally wide-eyes were now closed, and his head had fallen to the side of the chair, his fine hair pressed into the soft upholstery. 

Tsuzuki bent down and looked up into his partner's sleeping face. He looked so calm, so different from the usual annoyed or exasperated look that he always gave him. Tsuzuki reached out slowly and brushed a few strands of hair from the other's face. At his touch, the boy moved back a little. Tsuzuki took his hand away and cursed at himself. He should just leave Hisoka be. His touch alone disturbed the boy. He kept watching his partner's face, but after the small twitch, he went back to sleeping peacefully.

Tsuzuki looked around. The library's calm quiet cloaked everything, even their small, hidden corner. He smiled to himself. It seemed that he had lost another secret to his partner, but it didn't bother him too much. Maybe this was just another thing to share between them. He sat down on the floor and leaned his body against the side of the chair. With careful fingers, he quietly opened the box. A set of four small bon-bons looked back up at him. He glanced up to the sleeping boy and smiled. 

It seemed he would have to stay even later than he had expected...

He shrugged and pushed the Secretary's glinting smile out of his mind as he bent down and enjoyed one of the secret pleasures that afternoon held. He cooed quietly as the rich chocolate seemed to melt as it touched his lips. He licked his fingers, trying to soak up every trace of the sweet residue it left. He reached into the box and picked up another. He looked down at it wistfully and then placed it into his mouth. He would have to savor this for as long as he could.

-----

He felt too guilty to stay and wait for his partner to wake up. A part of him still wanted to keep the knowledge that they shared this little corner a secret. He wished he could have seen Hisoka's eyes when they did open and fall upon the box that now lay on top of the book across his lap. He knew inside though that the other Shinigami would easily figure out who, out of all of them, might leave such a gift behind.

With one finger still in his mouth, he smiled as he made his way back to the office. The angry blush he knew he'd see later would be worth the extra hours he'd work tonight. But that was one secret he would keep to himself for now.

^^


End file.
